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HomeMy WebLinkAbout6.e. Fire Station Location StudyCITY OF ROSEMOUNT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY FOR ACTION CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: MAY 19, 1992 AGENDA ITEM: FIRE STATION LOCATION STUDY AGENDA SECTION: OLD BUSINESS PREPARED BY: STEPHAN JILR, CITY ADMINISTRATOR AGENDI-MM 6E ATTACE301ENTS: COPY OF FIRE STATION LOCATION Y: STUDY =APPD y As part of the decision making process to construct a new fire station, deciding where a new station would be located is a key element. The City completed a study in 1988, with the assistance of a consultant to: 1. Evaluate existing land use, proposed land use, transportation assessablity, utilities demographics and barriers to fire service. 2. Review the location of calls for service and response times to those calls. 3. Review and recommend "acceptable" response times. 4. Evaluate the existing fire station and equipment and identity future needs. 5. Assess future capitol costs for equipment/facility alternative. The study resulted in a recommendation to relocate and construct a larger fire facility. This new/enlarged station would result in providing quicker response times and a facility of sufficient size for expanded needs. The location of the facility is a key factor in providing fire service. I would like to discuss the study, the basis for it and the resulting recommendation for consideration in deciding on the location for the station site. RECOMMENDED ACTION: Motion to re -affirm the recommended site for the proposed fire station for the City of Rosemount as recommended in the 1988 study by Hoisington Group Inc.. COUNCIL ACTION: I � FIRE STATION � LOCATION � STUDY 1 I � City of � Rosemount, � Minnesota 1 1 J J Hoisington Group Inc Hoisington Group Inc. i Re: Transmittal of Final Fire Station Location Study Report Attention on: Mr. Stephan Jilk :._ _: ... We are pleased to submit this Final Report which includes our recommendations as to the number and location of future 1 fire stations within the City_of Rosemount. 3j I want to acknowledge the excellent technical contribution made, by.Richfield Fire Chief Patrick Coughlin who -was responsible for the application.of response time models and the preparation 'of' a' portio -n of ' this Report. I would also dike to recognize the contributions made'by Richard Car-lquist, `Plymouth Public Safety Director, and Larry Thompson, Public Management Consultants,_both of whom provided us with input during the study process. jI want to thank the Rosemount City Council for giving us an j ,.:opportunity to be of continuing service to the City. We especially wish to thank Red Staats, Scott Aker and the City` Staff who served the important role of providing the Team with background information and reviewing our recommendations. Theerce tive direction of Stephan Jilk was P P p .particularly appreciated. to proceed the CONTENTS PAGE STUDY OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2 COMMUNITY GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT 3 EXISTING FIRE SERVICE AND FACILITIES 6 RESPONSE TIMES 9 ALTERNATIVES/RESPONSE TIME ANALYSIS 11 COST ASSESSMENT 13 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 14 E STUDY OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY ' In April of 1988, the City of Rosemount commissioned Hoisington Group Inc. to study the City's fire station needs and identify the number and location of future facilities. The most important factors considered were land use patterns, access, present and future population/dwelling unit distribution, water service availability, and the present and future availability of volunteers as related to fire station location. Because of the nature of the study, to improve the City's fire fighting capabilities, this report includes recommendations that go beyond fire station needs. Fire fighters are the essence of a strong and capable volunteer department and several recommendations necessarily deal with recruitment. The study process included the following: 1. An evaluation of existing and proposed land use, transporta- tion/accessibility, utilities, demographics and barriers to fire service including natural features, limited access highways and railroads. 2. A review of fire insurance ratings including the number and 'location of calls and response times. 3. Comparisons with other communities having central and t satellite fire station facilities. No valid conclusions could be reached by making comparisons. 4. Review and recommendation of acceptable response time standards. 5. An evaluation of the present fire station and equipment and the identification of future needs based on alternative facility concepts. 6. An assessment of approximate future capital costs for facility/equipment alternatives. 7. Meetings with the Fire Chief, City Administrator, City Planner and Building Official to generate input and review recommendations. 8. Preparation of a Preliminary Report identifying findings, conclusions and recommendations. 9. Preparation of a Final Report. 10. Meetings with the City Council to present recommendations. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. By year 2000, the number of dwelling units within the 2000 Metropolitan Urban Service Area (MUSA) will comprise 92% of all residential development in the City of Rosemount. A maximum of two fire stations will be required to provide an acceptable level of service to the City's urban areas. 2. Whether the City adopts the one or two station concept, these should be located in the west end of the City. Service cannot be improved with additional stations located in central or eastern Rosemount. 3. The present and future location of volunteers will be the primary determinant in locating fire station facilities. 4. Whether one or two fire stations are built depends on the level of service that is felt to be appropriate for the northwesterly rural residential areas of Rosemount. Improve- ments in service over that which currently exists, will demand a second station. 5. The present station will not -fit well into either a one or two station concept given present City growth trends. The inability to recruit volunteers in this area will shrink the size of the service area and increase response times to all sectors of the City. 6. The City's immediate needs can best be served by a new station relocated to the west and centered in a residential area which is fertile ground for the recruitment of volunteers. 7. If the more nearly ideal two station concept is adopted with a central station on CR 42, the second station should be con- structed within five years of the new central station. 8. In the interest of maintaining excellent coverage in the short-term while keeping options open for improved service levels in the future (a second station), the Consultant recommends the construction of a new central fire station on 145th Street between Shannon Parkway and Chippendale Avenue. 9. A recruiting program should be implemented to concentrate on the two minute turn -out area surrounding each station. 10. The City should consider adopting Appendix Chapter 38 of the State Building Code which would require fire suppression improvements. 11. City employees should be recruited as volunteer fire fighters to improve daytime response times subject to Fair Labor Standards Act limitations. 2 COMMUNITY GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT Overview The City of Rosemount is located approximately six miles due south of the City of St. Paul. It abuts the rapidly growing suburban communities of Apple Valley, Eagan and,Inver Grove Heights along its westerly and northerly boundaries`respectively. On the other hand, its southerly and easterly boundaries interface with Empire, Vermillion and Nininger Townships, all of which are rural in J nature. The City is really two communities in one, an urbanizing west end, the core of which is the old Village of Rosemount, and the very rural/agricultural east end which comprises the original Township of Rosemount and contains the old Pine Bend Industrial area. Pine Bend includes several heavy industries which have a strong relationship with the Mississippi River. The consolidation of the village and township in 1970-71 unified the community under one governmental jurisdiction, allowing for greater efficiency in the delivery of public services. The consolidation of the two governments, however, did not alter development patterns substantially because the old village had the only available public sewer a.nd water services allowing for urban development. The establishment of the Metropolitan Urban Service Area (MUSA) during the 70's further reinforced the urbanization of the west end of Rosemount and the maintenance'of a basically rural/industrial east end. The City consists of a total of slightly less than 36 square miles but is elongated in an east/west direction. It is nine miles long and four miles wide which poses a challenge for the delivery of public services. Approximately five square miles of land within the City is owned by the University of Minnesota. While the City has very little authority to provide public services within the Rosemount Research Center, it does provide fire protection services within that area of the University property that lies between 145th and 160th Streets. The type and nature of development (Figure 1) varies greatly throughout the City with rural residential development at one dwelling unit per five acres in ,the northwest, urban residential densities in excess of 3.5 units per acre within and adjacent to the old village, heavy industrial development in the northeast corner of the City and substantial areas of excellent agricultural land, comprising most of the center and southeasterly areas of Rosemount. 3 EAGAN Legend State Highway .County Highway County Rds & MSA S (Ex. & Pending) Other Continuous Loo ------- -2000 MUSA • Ex. Fire .Station ............. O VERMLLION ST. -LI/I �Vu Figure I - 2000 GENERALIZED LAND USE AND TRANSPORTATION DETERMINANTS HOISINGT0N GROUP INC. i a Dwelling Unit Distribution Approximately 90% of Rosemount's housing stock lies westerly of the Chicago -Milwaukee Railroad tracks (Figure 2). Historically, the bulk of Rosemount's population has resided in Sections 29 and 30 (presently contains 50% of the City's dwelling units), the southerly boundary of which is County Road 42. Much new growth is occuring in the northerly half of Section 30 and the southerly half of Section 19 including Country Hills, a US Homes Corporation project., consisting of 567 single-family homes. Substantial new development is also occuring in Section 31 including the Wensmann Additions (206 units), West Ridge (280 units), O'Leary's Hills (213 units) and Valley Oak or Winds Crossing (258 units), substantial areas of which have already been platted. All of these subdivisions are contiguous to or an outgrowth of the old Village of Rosemount and development is occuring because of the availability of public sewer and water services. One additional major subdivision (Enebak) is proposed for Section 28 in the triangle that lies between the Chicago -Rock Island Railroad line and County Road 42. This subdivision could include up to 490 residential units. The City currently has a population estimated at 7,600 (City estimate 1988) and based on the development of 270 lots per year, will grow to 1990 and 1995 populations of 9,300 and 14,500 respectively. Rosemount is a rapidly growing community but its growth is very well contained because the imposition of MUSA forces almost all development to occur in close proximity to the old village. Future Growth Based on the present improved lot inventory, anticipated 1988 improvements and the remaining inventory of phased improvements beyond 1988; a large majority of the City's growth will be west of State Trunk Highway 3 between now and year 2000. Seventy-five percent of its housing stock will lie west of and 17% will be east of STH 3 but within MUSA. The remainder of the City will experience very little development between now and the turn of the century. z rF EAGAN L. ra r, 1 n r. Legend 000 Traffic Assignme Yr. Yr. 1987/2000 0000/00,00 Dwelling Urid Dis VERMLLION Figure 2 Figure DWELLING UNIT DISTRIBUTION HOISINGTON GROUP INC. Water Service Public water service is or will be available to all of the areas lying south of the old village of Rosemount except for that lying easterly of STH 3 which will continue to be agricultural in use at least until year 2000. Water servicetothe northerly sector of the City will extend no further than approximately one mile north of 145th Street over the next 20 years. There are presently no plans to extend water service to the rural residential areas in the northwest quadrant of the City which means that fire risk will be higher and losses greater due to the dependence on tankers for water supply. Public water service will be available to areas within the designated year 2000 MUSA which currently lie easterly of STH 3 in Sections 21 and 28. Transportation The City of Rosemount is very well served with a developed system of State and County highways and Municipal State Aid streets. County Road 42 provides a continuous roadway which connects the entire City east to west. State Trunk Highways 3, 52/56 and 55 also provide excellent north -south access at both ends of the City. Other than the Rosemount Research Center which does not have a readily understandable street system, all of the City of Rosemount is readily accessible via its major roadway network. There are no areas of the City that lack accessibility. The University of Minnesota Rosemount Research Center is serviced by the City's Fire Department and is occupied by commercial and industrial type uses that generally have higher than normal levels of fire hazard. Hazardous wastes are also stored at the Research Center and the City Fire Department has been instructed to allow these materials to burn if involved in a conflagraton. While the Fire Department is gaining an increasing understanding of the layout of the Research Center, streets therein are not signed and the Department is discouraged from becoming familiar with the property. Improved relations with Research Center personnel should be encouraged to maximize fire protection capabilities. 5 EXISTING FIRE SERVICE AND FACILITIES The City of Rosemount currently has a central Fire Station located on Brazil Avenue in the northeast quadrant of downtown Rosemount, just north of City Hall. This facility was constructed in 1974 and has a floor area of approximately 8,600 square feet comprised of four apparatus bays, offices, dispatch area, hose tower, community room and ancillary facilities. It is the Consultant's understanding that the present station could be converted to a public works garage if an alternative fire station location is recommended. At the present time, the Fire Department has a fleet of ten vehicles to support fire fighting and rescue operations. They include a 65 foot platform aerial ladder truck, a 1,000 gpm pumper, a 1,250 gpm pumper (1,000 gallon), a 1,500 gpm pumper (750 gallon), two 4x4 grass fire fighting vehicles, one rescue truck, one tanker (3,300 gallon), one hose truck (pickup) and one car which is not always housed at the Station. Two vehicles are anticipated to be added including a Suburban 4x4 in 1989 and a utility van if space is available in 1992. This will bring the Department's vehicle inventory to 12 by 1992 assuming the single fire station concept is adopted and implemented. The Rosemount Fire Department is a volunteer organization consisting of 37 fire fighters. Nearly all departmental personnel reside within the old village of Rosemount, westerly of the present fire station. Three reside east of the present station facility and three reside some distance northerly of the station. None of the current volunteers reside within the area defined as the "two minute" turn—out radius and only two reside within the "two and one half minute" turn—out area. Since there is very little residential development within two and one half minutes of the present fire station, it will be impossible to increase the number of volunteers in close proximity and thereby diminish overall response times. The area that can be serviced from the existing fire station facility within a six to seven minute response time will therefore be smaller than one where volunteers can be recruited within two and one half minutes of `the station. The City presently has a fire insurance rating of six which will not improve with the relocation of the present station or increased numbers of stations according to the 1988 Improvement Statement by the ISO Commercial Risk Services, Inc. According to the report, rating improvements would more -readily be achieved by correcting departmental and water supply deficencies. 3 The insurance rating is primarily based on the coverage of existing developments but it is important to note that the City of Rosemount is growing rapidly in areas north and south of the old village which are beyond the six to seven minute desirable response time from the present station. These growth areas are also where the best prospects for recruitment will exist in the future. According to the Fire Chief, the Department can respond within six to eight minutes to a fire or rescue incident within and adjacent to the old village of Rosemount. The rural residential area in the northwest corner of the City generally requires a much longer response time and those rural and industrial areas lying easterly of the old village, where volunteers are not available, require even longer response times. Because of the absence of volunteers in central and eastern Rosemount, and limited recruitment opportunities over time, response times could not be improved even if stations were present in these areas. Table 1 is a listing of fire and rescue calls made by the J Department between 1984 and 1987. No real pattern emerges except that the Department had a lesser than normal number of calls in 1986. The substantial difference in the number of incidents in 1986 and 1987 was attributable to considerably more grass and trash fires in 1987. TABLE 1 TOTAL FIRE AND RESCUE CALLS 1 1984 ............. 215 1985 217 1986 189 1987 264 According to the Fire Chief, approximately two thirds of all runs made by the Rosemount Fire Department are for rescue events. Most of the more severe rescues involve acidents on State Highways 52/56 and 55 at the east end of the City. Most rescue trips for illnesses are made to the old village or the urban area of Rosemount. Of course, the predominance of fires are fought in town as opposed to agricultural areas. The City fights very few fires in the central and eastern ends of .the City. It has been called to fight fires at the Koch Refinery facility on several recent (1987) occasions but because the Refinery provides its own unique chemical fire fighting capabilities, the City provides little more than standby service related to such major conflagrations. By far the largest number of incidents of both fire and rescue are generated by the existing development within and adjacent to the old village. 7 Rosemount police officers and fire fighters are trained to the First Responder level of emergency medical training. They respond to all medical emergencies and perform basic emergency care until the ambulance arrives. Ambulance transportation and Advance Life -Support (ALS) is provided by Health East, responding from South St. Paul. The ALS ambulance is staffed by paramedics who are trained and equipped to give advanced pre -hospital care to victims, such as cardiac, shock and drug therapy. The response time of the ALS unit is longer than neighboring communities. A shorter response time for ALS would be preferable, but Rosemount does not have the population base and density to support the cost of an ALS unit of its own. However, a cost effective alternative does exist which would increase the survival chances of victims with coronary problems. Emergency physicians in Minnesota are now authorizing non -paramedic rescue personnel to use automatic defibrillators, which can be used to monitor and correct cardiac arrest. First Responder emergency rescue services will continue to be provided by the Fire Department due to the high cost of alternative service improvements. The City of Rosemount has mutual aid pacts with all surrounding communities and provides fire fighting services to the City of Coats on a contract basis. Mutual aid can be especially important to areas of Rosemount that do not have a public water system available and, therefore, require the use of tankers. While Apple Valley no longer has tankers, Eagan is an especially important resource to assist with service to the northwest area of Rosemount. The Koch Refinery has its own fire department and an 8,000 gallon foam truck especially designed for fighting chemical fires. The Department does not fight fires elsewhere in the community. Koch Refinery is part of the mutual aid system with surrounding communities but this only allows each of the surrounding departments to fight fires at the factory site and not vice—versa. Company fire fighters are experts at fighting chemical fires and provide fire fighting training in the use of foam to other departments. Major problems presently associated with the Department include an insufficient number of daytime volunteers due to employment outside of the community, water service deficiencies as per the ISO Improvement Statement and the difficulty with recruiting volunteers in close proximity to the existing central fire station. It is important to note, as well, that the City is less than one percentage point away from an insurance rating of five which could lower business insurance rates. It is very likely that water improvements made since the ISO's 1980 assessment may already qualify the City for a five rating. 1.1 11 RESPONSE TIMES Response time is composed of two time segments. The first segment, turn -out time, is the time it takes until fire fighters are aboard the engine and ready to respond. The second segment, travel time, is the time it takes the engine to travel to the fire scene from the fire station. Turn -out time on a career department is relatively short and consistent. The fire fighters are already in the station, ready to dress and board the engine within about 30 seconds. On a volunteer department, turn -out time is relatively longer and varies more. The volunteers must get into their vehicles and travel to the station from different locations and distances before getting dressed and boarding the engine. The time needed to reach the station varies by the time of day, weather and traffic conditions. More importantly, it varies by the availability of volunteers who live close to the station, since the nearest volunteers are not always available. Thus, the turn -out time segment is more important for volunteer departments and is of paramount importance when considering fire station location. All things considered, departments with a large number of volunteers living near the station have shorter response. times to a larger geographic area. For this reason, it is a good policy to locate fire stations in residential areas which are likely to yield volunteers who live near the station. The methodology used to measure response times was developed in 1970 for the New York City Fire Department. It has also been used in several other cities throughout the country and found to be valid. The formulas selected for Rosemount are designed for communities having a grid pattern of streets where the majority of travel is at right angles to cross streets. This is obviously the case for most of the City of Rosemount. Two travel time formulas were used. The first is valid for travel distances of less than .38 mile and the second is valid for distances greater than that. The formulas are as follows: T = 2.10 x square root of D for distances less than .38 mile, and T = 0.65 + 1.70 D for distances greater than .38 mile. T = Travel time D = Distance E The areas on the response time map are depicted as squares rather than circles and represent average travel times. Actual travel times would manifest themselves in a more irregularly shaped pattern. Using this concept, the longest distance traveled from a station in four minutes will be along routes perpendicular to the station. Distances traveled to intermediate points around the station in four minutes will be shorter. We have validated the measures by comparing the estimates with actual times for a sample of Rosemount's volunteer fire fighters. A very close correlation was found to exist between the formulas and the actual travel times. For the purpose of this Study, the following assumptions were made: r. The City is interested in a system that represents the least possible cost for providing a responsible level of service. 2. A six to seven minute response time for the urban area of Rosemount. 3. A seven plus minute response time to the semi -rural and rural areas of Rosemount. 4. The Fire Department will continue to provide emergency rescue services as a First Responder -department. 10 I ALTERNATIVES /RESPONSE TIME ANALYSIS A central station versus multi -stations is primarily dependent on the distribution -and therefore availability- of fire fighters. With a career department, the fire fighters are already in the station and stations can be located to achieve the best possible coverage in keeping with response time objectives. With a volunteer department, the most important locational determinant is the location of the volunteer fire fighter's residences. In areas within the City that have little or no potential for recruitment, fire stations, themselves, will not improve response times to fires. J With that in mind, it is important to note that Rosemount is unique in that it is completely unlike the typical metropolitan area suburban community, which is entirely within MUSA and, therefore, must service growth in all quadrants. Because of MUSA, growth will continue to be heavily concentrated in the west end of the City and most development will lie westerly of State Trunk Highway 3. Because of this concentration, the City can provide a fire protection system that includes no more than two stations, at least for the next 20 years, assuming they are property located. For the purpose of this Study, three concepts or scenarios were evaluated as follows: 1. A single station concept utilizing the existing station. 2. A single station concept utilizing a new centrally located station. 3. A two -station concept. Coverage From The Existing Station The six to seven minute area covered by the present fire station (Figure 3) is a two mile travel distance. Only two fire fighters presently live within the two and one half minute turn -out area but much of this zone is designated for land uses other than residential which means that the overall response area will shrink over time because the bulk of future fire fighters will reside beyond the two and one half minute travel time to the station. It is unlikely that fire fighters who presently live within two and one half minutes of the station will be replaced by personnel in the same area and recruiting will grow increasingly difficult. In a nutshell, the present fire station does not have a sufficiently sized response area to cover the most rapidly urbanizing portions of the City of Rosemount and the response area will continue to shrink as departmental personnel age. 11 Covera a From A New Central Station Relocating the station to First, it can be centered ineaneareast ahavin s two advantages (Figure 4 probability within two to two and one half gminutes recruitment )� ' This would assure a six to seven minute res largest geographical the station. urban areaowiaphll icalarea . Second response time for the a �to ser portion of the City s area of this station by the six to seven minute response f present station's capabilitiesng Athe level of service over the relocated central station could serve Rosemount's fire wouldbe needs for 20 years or more before another station would be required. Two -Station Conce t Two fire stations (Figure geographic response area to include the majority 5 will increase the six to seven minute residential areas plus a substantial residential areas lying of Rosemount's Y g in the northwest quadrant the rural The recommended sites will not, Quadrant of the City. northwest corner or the bulk of however, cover all of the the rural areas of the City.. In the two -station scenario, station will have an im the timing of building is placed. Portant impactg the second As part of a two- on where the initial station station should be station department,.the relocated only station. placed further south than if it were to be the To establish the more nearly concept without building the second station immediate) a reduction in ideal two -station and east service levels for the residential areaYlwing mean station shouldeberbuilt wthinesent n� Under this scenario yang north could be taken o continue to use ears or a temporary m second the primasent p station s measure built, y or secondary facility until rasnew satellites seither tation is Locating the central station further north along maintain the service level to that area but it will than optimum to the second stat' 145th Street will scenario, ion when it is built then be closer the two stations would be relative) under this service level will remain the same for more of the to build Y close but the a second or satellite station in conjunctiontwith Taemored 7 northerly central station becomes less imminent. y. Option will maintain excellent short-term coverage while e options o The 145th Street pen for improved service levels to northwest Rosemount g' the future. in 12 .. . _ - ........... wiv}:x•r. :r. -r '�. .L .,:''vCs.� %�_�✓,..i ..tY.btw.};:x .ntw,v tiiti- r}�..}ftm4j V•}:4Y.GW.vr,X•-01 .S.•x w•.y. /.r/J� 1rb. {t •, •.:..'+G •.N �.../�^•/r' ...-.. ,� • a.?$vtti'jltf•:i�",•y/'Jie:•�+''r .r .. yj{{ ..... 4• r _ '•.yi . ''•'� ' �vr- -o:r• vw Yn K+ict.c•a[-< � ... ,. l,•yMY •: QSS ,xrnY. •:towc•.xtw,. y �, � . r� �fr s'rvmcn°°"'�+•avna,�a, '/,, -- brotbM1b} .v~v,.Yrrnv I �� b �'•" 60 w� , r r •�,•" .x'�.:... �, •e• gyp, t ?6164' .•�-.:.�r;,9y..r�!•,,�+*� /,,+a�'s. ,., � i'• •a:.f" r.:...... PUBc{et}r. cf:. yrf yi °°sy+w. Si y, t ..... .. ....... -...• r :.t S SGFi�'gnOr G .. �. 'INS RUBA �¢+,y •ryi:3cr 'tail, tw'+' :. :,t► t 9`•�iY<••�y ;�. �y.�+ �f {--4 y:r � •S `p. f s � � � •sem � �'• .... ,: .. x , b• .. .......... ;t<7:::...... G _ ........ yv ... ...... - . , . . ..........-` f .j • • - •• . +C<X«tYv.V'\ni{ !y,�( • K.W wbi hY•VNM1VYW03}?%9•'{0 • '4SynX{xnYH>'yoQ'.• //�:. .•. .•.. Y+46Y'k3i 4d '}+• �.•G•'i!i+.,,�'.,sew— p ...vim•}..''W'�•'+Y Legend State Highway Figure 4 County Highway, County Rds & M SINGLE STATION CONCEPT (Ex. & Pending) �: xac wx t NEW)Other Continuou 2000 MUSA )TA HOISINGTON GROUP INC. Ex. Industrial 0 COST ASSESSMENT A new central fire station should be slightly larger than the present one, totaling approximately 10,000 to 12,000 square feet. This would accommodate some of the additional equipment which is presently contemplated to be added by the Fire Department, making it sufficiently large to satisfy the long-range needs of the City. If a second station is to be provided, it should be approximately 7,000 square feet in size and would house a pumper, a grass fire fighting rig and a car or rescue wagon. If it were known in advance that the City were to pursue a two -station concept, it could reduce the size of the new central station to approximately 10,000 square feet. Of course, if the present station is to be used, it will need an additional apparatus bay. The following represents a cost comparison between the one and two -station concepts: COST COMPARISON LAND COST CONSTRUCTION COST EQUIPMENT COST j EXISTING NEW TWO STATION STATION STATIONS 0 $22,500 1) $37,500 3') $75,000 $1,200,000 2) $1,500,000 4) N/A N/A $200,000 STATION SIZE/ADDITION 1,500 5) 12,000 10,000 7,000 1) 1.5 acres @ $15,000/ac 2) $100/square foot 3) Satelite Station - 1.0 ac 4) Satelite Station @ $75/square foot 5) $50/square foot 13 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 1. Development is concentrated in the west end of the City and due to the presence of MUSA,`nearly all development will continue to occur adjacent to the old village of Rosemount. By year 2000, the number of dwelling units located within the 2000 MUSA will comprise 92% of`all residential development in the City. Because of this concentration, a maximum of two fire stations will be required to provide excellent service to all of the urban portions of the City of Rosemount plus most of its rural residential areas. 2. No matter the number of stations, fire coverage cannot be improved with additional stations in central or eastern Rosemount. The lower level of service available to these areas is appropriate to the life style of those who choose to live in agricultural areas. 3. The City has an excellent transportation network which provides the maximum of access to all areas of the City of Rosemount. There are no areas within the City that cannot be served due to transportation deficiencies. 4. The location of the Department's volunteer fire fighters is the primary determinant in locating stations. Free standing stations which have no volunteers nearby offer a lower service level than those which are distant the fire but provide an adequate supply of volunteers. To build stations in the agricultural or east end industrial areas would simply impose long turn -out times on the Department's volunteers thus decreasing the travel times from those stations. 5. Whether one or two fire stations are to be built and maintained depends on the level of service to be provided to the northwesterly rural residential areas of the City. If the present service level is considered to be acceptable, one station is all that will be required to satisfy the needs of the urban areas of Rosemount. If improvements to service in the northwest quadrant of the City are deemed essential, a second station will be required to achieve this objective. 6. The present fire station facility does not and will not fit well into a two station concept given present City growth trends. Because of the type of land use that immediately surrounds the present station, it also will not serve well as the only fire station. The inability to recruit volunteers over time will continue to shrink the size of the service area while increasing response times to all sectors of the City. 14 I 7. Rosemount's immediate and short-term fire protection needs can be best served by a new central station relocated to the west and centered in a residential area which has the Potential to yield a larger number of volunteers who live within a two to two and one half minute turn -out time from the station. The areas where it would appear that volunteers will be most readily available are those north and south of the old village where most new residential development is taking place. 8. If the more nearly ideal two station concept is desired to improve service levels to the northwester) rant of the City of Rosemount, the second station should �bedconstructed within five years of the construction of the new central station. 9. Because construction of a new central station on or near County Road 42 will temporally increase response times to some of the already developed areas of Rosemount, the Consultant recommends construction of a new central station on 145th Street betwen Shannon Parkway and Chippendale Avenue. This will maintain excellent short-term coverage to the urban residential areas of Rosemount while keeping options open to build a,satellite station appropriately timed to satisfy new growth and the perceived need for improved service to the northwesterly rural residential areas of the City. 10. The fire code should be enforced at the University of Minnesota property with priority given to: a. A maintenance program for the hydrant system, and b. Installation of building addresses and street signs.. The Department could increase the effectiveness of its tanker and grass rig operations on the University property if the school would install a rapid loading device from its water tower for use by the City. 11. When the new fire station is built, a recruiting program should be implemented, concentrating primarily on the area designated as the two minute turn -out area and secondarily on the two and one half minute turn -out area. The greater the number of personnel living within this area, the larger the six to seven minute response area will become. 1 15 12. The City should consider implementing Appendix Chapter 38 of the State Building Code. It contains a set of more stringent automatic sprinkler system requirements which can reduce the demand on the Fire Department. This Appendix is an optional item for cities which want to keep their public cost of fire protection at a reasonable level. For example, the building code does not require sprinklers in retail buildings unless they are over 12,000 square feet in size. Under this Appendix, the City would have the option of requiring sprinklers in such buildings when they are over 2,000 or 5,000 square feet. About 24 cities in the State of Minnesota have adopted Appendix Chapter 38. Background material on this has been given to the Rosemount Building Official for review. 13. Since daytime response will continue to be a shortcoming of the Department, two steps should be considered to improve daytime service. First, the City should encourage City employees to serve as volunteer fire fighters. It is important to note, however, that the Fair Labor Standards Act presently prohibits the use of City employees unless paid time and one half for overtime or a weighted average of their regular pay and the more nominal fire fighter's pay. Pay differential could create problems between higher paid City employees and volunteers. Congress is presently dealing with this problem. Second, the City should consider arranging a reciprocal automatic response from Apple Valley for daytime structural fire calls in Rosemount's residential areas. The volume of such calls will be very low and will not impose a burden on either department. This would provide Rosemount with a pumper and four fire fighters to augment Rosemount personnel, an important advantage when the number of available fire fighters is below standard. 14. The Fire Department strength should be increased by ten members in order to meet the Department's long-range needs. Doing so will provide the following advantages: a. While the Fire Department is reasonably stable it will experience times when manning levels drop. Up to 50% of younger volunteer fire fighters can be expected to resign within the first five years because of a job change or family relocation. Twenty-four of the 37 current fire fighters have been members less than ten years, the time period of highest turnover. Adding ten more fire fighters will assure the Department of having an adequate number of experienced personnel as older fire fighters retire or younger fire fighters resign. This will mean that the Department will be slightly over manned at times, but it will also mean that the Department will have an adequate number of experienced fire fighters when the manning level fluctuates downward. 16 i b. The manning level will be more critical if nd station is built. Adding fire fighters nowawilloinsur ` e enough experienced fire fighters to man another station. c. Recruiting additional fire fighters around the relocated station will expand the six to seven minute response tim area to its maximum size more quickly, ime 15. Consideration should be given to the Purchase automatic defibrillators to increase the effectiveness of Police and Fire Department members on medical calls while waiting for ALS service to arrive. 16. Fire station facilities generally should not be located the intersections of major cross streets. be a preferable for stations to be located on one major It will be highl y some distance from the cross street to insure the minimum conflict during fire and rescue incidents. of 17 EAGAN - ------------ -- LMPIKL VERMLLION Legend 0 3000' 60006T State Highway. County Highway County Rds & MSA Streets (Ex. & Pending) Other Continuous Local Rds. '2000 MUSA *. Ex. Fire .Station Ex. Industrial Dev. FIRE STATION LOCATION STUDY ROSEMOUNT MINNESOTA IST. Figure 1 2000 GENERALIZED LAND USE AND TRANSPORTATION DETERMINANTS HOISINGTON GROUP INC pq EAGAN Legend 1 „i m 000 Traffic Assignment Zone # Yr. 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